Thursday, January 27, 2011

I was originally supposed to first see my OB next week for the NT scan, but instead I saw her today due to Monday's incident.

As it turns out, I have a small subchorionic hematoma that was visible on the ultrasound today. It's around 1 inch across but doesn't appear to be causing a problem at the moment. The baby was very active with a heart rate of 167 bpm. It's measuring a little ahead at 11 weeks, 5 days.

Of course I had a ton of questions for her:

Q: Why did this happen? Was it due to the Lovenox?
A: We don't know why. Sometimes these things just happen. The lovenox didn't cause it and it probably would have happened even if I wasn't on blood thinners. There is an increased risk of miscarriage until it resolves, but right now the baby looks great and is developing right on track.

Q: How long should I stay on Lovenox and baby aspirin?
A: For the entire pregnancy. Since we don't know 100% why I've lost so many pregnancies but I have moderately high anticardiolipin antibodies, it's best to just keep treating me as if that's the sole cause. I will switch to heparin around 34 weeks and we will schedule an induction about 10 days before my due date so we can take me off the blood thinners before hand. If I got into labor while on blood thinners, I won't be able to have an epidural! So, if all goes well, I will have the baby in the first week of August.

Q: How often will I be monitored?
A: Every other week until 32 weeks, then every week. Being high risk means lots of scans!

Q: How long do I have to stay on bed rest?
A: Through the weekend. I can go back to work on Monday assuming there is no more heavy bleeding.

Q: How long do I have to stay on pelvic rest?
A: At least 3 weeks, probably longer. This means no exercise beyond walking and no sex.

Q: Will I be able to fly to Seattle at the end of February?
A: Maybe. She will check me a couple of days beforehand and make a decision then.

Also, I lost 5 pounds in the last month! I'm elated since I've tried REALLY hard to not gain any weight yet. Since I'm starting out overweight, I need to keep my total weight gain between 15 and 25 pounds. I figured this would be difficult since I haven't been allowed to go to the gym in, like, 3 months. I guess nausea does have some benefits!

Best part for last; here are the latest pics of our little alien baby:

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I'm 11 weeks today! This is exciting because out of 6 pregnancies, it's the farthest I've ever made it. I'd prefer if it was complication free, but hey -- you can't have everything.

I spent yesterday mostly lounging on the couch with the puppy. We watched some really fascinating tv shows like House Hunters and House Hunters International. If we ever decide to move to Norway, now I have a grasp on the local real estate market!

Anyway, the bleeding seemed to be over. Now I just have to contend with a lot of really gross brown discharge mucking things up. My uterus still felt pretty irritated and I had twinges anytime I stood up for more than a couple of minutes.

Today, I feel a lot more normal. I'm still laying low, but standing doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. I'm relaxing in bed with my iPad and a memoir about a man who taught school in the marshall islands for a year. Which I actually read a couple of months ago. Any suggestions on good reading material? :)

My big excitement for the day is going to be taking a shower! I'm still a bit blood stained in certain areas, so it will be wonderful to feel clean again.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Around 4 this afternoon, I was sitting at my desk trying to resist the urge to buy some french fries as a snack. I shifted position and felt a major gush of blood let loose! I ran to the bathroom and my liner and underwear were soaked. I also passed a giant 2 inch clot that could have been blood, or could have been placenta. I've never had such heavy bleeding in my life and I quickly soaked through a thicker pad. I started having some occasional sharp cramps and I was sure I was losing the baby.

I called the clinic and they told me to go to the ER since the doctor had already left. I called Chad and he rushed over to pick me up (good think he works 5 minutes away). I asked the 1 coworker who knows I'm pregnant if he could keep an eye on my dog and tell my boss I was leaving, and I called my sister and her boyfriend and asked them if they could come pick the puppy up and take him home for me. I'm so thankful to have them here and so willing to help me out!!

We got to the ER at just the right time with only 1 person in the waiting room ahead of us. Within 30 minutes they did a quick ultrasound and we got to see that the baby was moving around and looked fine. Eventually they took me back for a more in depth ultrasound and after 30 mins of searching, the tech couldn't see any cause for my bleeding. She thought maybe I'd had a cyst burst. The little bean was incredibly active with a heart rate of 165 and measured 11 wks 3 days. It was crazy seeing the little thing dancing and wiggling so much. You'd never know anything was wrong from the way it was behaving.

Anyway, the ER doctor said to rest and see my OB asap tomorrow to check things out again. I was discharged around 3.5 hours after arriving and given a stack of paperwork to bring to my doctor.

I'm still pretty unnerved by the whole experience, but at least the baby looks okay for now. The bleeding has slowed down to a watery red consistency at least. I'll be staying home tomorrow or until my OB says I can go back to work. I'm supposed to take it easy for the next 3 weeks: pelvic rest, no lifting, and no exercise. It looks like I'll be catching up on some trash TV tomorrow.

There's nothing much to report today. I decided not to see the RE for another ultrasound this afternoon since we've been having to wait for 45 minutes to an hour every time. So, I won't have any new pics until the NT scan on Feb 4th.

Everything appears to be going well. I'm still experiencing varying degrees of nausea and fatigue. Saturday was tough -- I ended up sleeping for almost the entire afternoon! Last night I was pretty restless and at one point I flopped over suddenly and felt a quick stabbing/stretching sensation in my belly. This morning I've had a little red spotting. Hopefully it stops soon...

As a reminder to those who receive my blog as an email update, please do your best to keep quiet about my pregnancy for the time being. I totally understand that you guys are over the moon about this one looking good so far. But, even though we think there is truly a really good chance things will work out, there's still a decent chance that it won't. As someone who has experienced so many losses in the past, I'm really not comfortable talking about this yet. So, please wait until I let you know when it's safe to tell the world. Thanks for understanding! =)

In other news, this is what's happening this week courtesy of babycenter.com:

"Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.
She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming."

Monday, January 17, 2011

I had my fourth ultrasound today and everything is still going well! The baby is keeping up with development and was even waving its arms around. Its heartbeat is a strong 174 bpm.

I graduated from the RE and will see my OB in 2.5 weeks for the nuchal translucency scan. I also only have to continue the awful progesterone injections just until the end of this week since the placenta has started producing it. I can't wait to be done with those shots!

Monday, January 10, 2011

The baby is a week larger and is starting to look more recognizable. Nice, strong heartbeat at 181 bmp.

I was a little worried since my nausea has mostly subsided, but my spotting seems to have stopped over the last few days. I'm still pretty fatigued and have been getting REALLY hungry every 3 hours or so.

Even with everything on track so far, I don't think I'll be able to relax about this pregnancy until we make sure it's chromosomally healthy. Even then, I suspect I'll be somewhat anxious about it until I'm actually holding it in my arms...

1 more week until I graduate to the OB.
3 more weeks until the second trimester.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Chad was very relieved to see that we're not in fact having twins -- Baby B has been growing like crazy and has taken over all available space. No wonder I've been feeling so sick! Anyway, I'm totally fine with 1 baby. Since I'm high risk to begin with, I was getting pretty nervous about all the potential complications with twins.

Our baby measured 1.32 cm / 7 weeks, 4 days, which is about right on track (I'm actually 7 wks, 5 days, but there's a couple day margin of error in the measurements).

The heart rate was a great 171 bpm.

I'll continue to be monitored weekly at the fertility clinic until 10 weeks. Next ultrasound is scheduled for next monday at 2!

About Me

My husband, Chad, and I were married in May '08. We live in Orange County, CA with our 3 cats and our whippet puppy.
We've been trying for our first child since January of '09. However, it's been rather difficult with five miscarriages caused by poor egg quality, a clotting disorder, or both.
We got lucky on our first IVF cycle and I got pregnant with our son, Eli. While my pregnancy was complicated by placenta previa and frequent sub-chorionic hematomas, Eli was born perfectly healthy at 38 weeks.

The Timeline So Far...

January '09 -- Our journey begins.July '09 -- First pregnancy.August '09 -- 7 week ultrasound showed a tiny embryo with a heartbeat, but the sac around it was very small. I miscarried a week later.October '09 -- After months of charting my cycles, I realized that I had a Luteal Phase Defect (the time between ovulation and my period was too short). Asked my OB for a referral to a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE).November '09 -- Second pregnancy.December '09 -- 6 week ultrasound again showed an abnormal sac. My RE scheduled a D & C for the following week. The day before the surgery, the baby had a heartbeat, so we cancelled the D & C.January '10 -- Miscarried at 10 weeks.March '10 -- Fertility testing revealed I have a high FSH level of 12.8. RE recommended ovarian stimulation injections and either IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) or IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization). We chose IUI and I wound up with a chemical pregnancy.May '10 -- Second IUI, second chemical pregnancy.June '10 -- Operative hysteroscopy to remove a fibroid.July '10 -- Fifth pregnancy (natural).August '10 -- Consecutive ultrasounds showed nothing. Ectopic suspected, so I was given methotrexate and miscarried at 8 weeks.September '10 -- New RE and recurrent pregnancy loss testing. Discovered I have anticardiolipin antibodies and will need to be on blood thinners while pregnant.October '10 -- Operative hysteroscopy & removed another fibroid and polyp. Started birth control pills in preparation for IVF.November '10 -- First IVF cycle: antagonist protocol. I only produced 3 eggs on maximum stimulation. We transferred two 5 day embryos on the 29th.December '10 -- Found out I was pregnant with twins! But only 1 heartbeat at 6 weeks 5 days.January '11 -- Lost the second twin, but the first is doing great.February '11 -- It's a boy!August '11 -- Eli Anderle was born on August 5th, 2011July '12 -- Begin TTC for #2Oct '12 -- IUI and positive pregnancy testJan '13 -- Never saw anything on the ultrasound, assumed ectopic pregnancy. Finally ended early in the month.Feb '13 -- high dose Follistim IUI. I produced 4 eggs, but didn't get pregnant.May '13 -- Surprise natural BFP!Oct '13 - Lucas Alexander born still on October 4th, 2013 at 24 weeks. We will miss him forever. :-(